Elias Adriaenssens

NBR1 shuttles between the cytoplasm and nucleus and is essential for nuclear p62 body formation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.10.710728v1

Automatic screening of cryo-EM grids using EPU is fast and efficient, but reviewing the generated data & picking the best areas for data collection can be slow and cumbersome. We made a little tool that makes this process more streamlined and enjoyable: github.com/mvorlander/E... 1/4

The accessory adapters FAF1, FAF2, and UBXN7 accelerate proteasomal degradation by increasing prior p97-mediated substrate unfolding A group of accessory adapters positions the p97 adapter Ufd1 to boost substrate unfolding and subsequent proteasomal degradation.

VCP/p97’s accessory adapters (FAF1, FAF2, UBXN7) boost unfolding and subsequent proteasomal degradation. #ubiquitin. Our paper is out now:
Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Image of FAF2's predicted helical domain interacting with the UFD1 UT3 domain. Next to this are similar images showing the predicted binding of de novo designed protein binders to the same region. Above is a sequence alignment indicating the key residues involved in the interaction.

🚨⚠️ New Preprint Alert! ⚠️ 🚨
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Screening p97 cofactors, @prithadg.bsky.social identified FAF2 as the strongest activator of the p97-UFD1-NPL4 complex. Leveraging her mechanistic descoveries, we designed 𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘰 binders that could also enhance p97 substrate unfolding.

Happy to share our new preprint on the mechanism of human tRNA 3' CCA maturation! This project was spearheaded by Bernhard Kuhle in my group, with contributions from many others and a great collaboration with the group of Peter Rehling (UMG). See highlights below!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

CBASS is a cyclic nucleotide-based antiviral system in bacteria that is related to cGAS-STING signaling in animals. One of the big questions is how CBASS is activated during phage infection? We made some progress on this during my final year in the Kranzusch lab.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

I am incredibly excited to share that I will start my independent lab at the @unidue-zmb.bsky.social at the @unidue.bsky.social as Junior Professor of Cellular Biochemistry. Research in my lab has the goal to decipher the ubiquitin code!
There are multiple open positions!
(1/3)

Rearrangement of amphipathic helices enables lipid uptake at ATG2A N-terminus.

📢 New #preprint from CRN Team Hurley!

The team uncovers the mechanism of ATG2A-mediated lipid transport 🧪

Structural modeling and simulations show that N-terminal helices gate lipid transfer, and a designed mutant transfers lipids three times faster in vitro.

🔗 bit.ly/3ZVAxw6

The results are finally in! 🏆💻🧬

I'm thrilled to announce that the manuscript for the Bits to Binders protein design competition is out on bioRxiv! Here's a summary of our findings, including some simple criteria that nearly *double* success rates when applied as a filter 🧵

🚨 New paper from our lab just published in Nature🚨

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Discover how 🌱 tumour formation is shaped by tissue context from the very beginning. Cancer is not driven by genetics alone

✨Fantastic team led by Greta Skrupskelyte, Eduardo Rojo, @hariajith.bsky.social

Mapping the yeast atructural interactome with AlphaFold3: an open call for collaboration We are excited to announce the early-stage release of our S. cerevisiae  structural interactome mapping project. Using AlphaFold3 (AF3), w...

We have started a project trying to predic the interactions/structures of all yeast protein pairs using an AlphaFold pooling approach. We are making the current dataset open and we welcome collaborations.
www.evocellnet.com/2026/03/mapp...

Another preprint is out from the Neal Lab! 🎉

Excited to share the first systematic side-by-side comparison of ERAD Derlin paralogs, revealing distinct cellular functions for Derlin-1, Derlin-2, and Derlin-3.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

2026 has been a remarkable year for me so far (despite the current world events): opening my lab at the University of Zurich, assembling an amazing group of people in the group, and celebrating it with a fantastic lab warming party. Figured it's also time for a small profile refresh.

Super excited to present out work at @mitotalks.bsky.social this Thursday!! Hope to see you there!

Does anyone know of an anti mStayGold antibody that works for immunoblots / IP? Anyone tried the one from HUABIO (not even sure that’s a real company)? Thanks!

We talk a lot about mitochondrial stress, but how about how do they keep themselves balanced? Good thing our speaker
@nieminm.bsky.social knows everything about that, and will tell all on the next MITOtalk. Usual time and place. See you there?

High-frequency biparental inheritance of plant mitochondria upon chilling stress and loss of a genome-degrading nuclease - Nature Plants Maternal inheritance of mitochondria breaks down in the cold when a mitochondrial DNA degrading nuclease is defective, resulting in biparental inheritance that can rescue mitochondrial mutations and g...

Mitochondria can indeed be inherited from the father! 🍀
In this new study, we uncovered the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial inheritance in Nicotiana tabacum. @natplants.nature.com

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

A foundation AI model enhances electron microscopy image analysis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.28.708664v1

The maternal PADI6–UHRF1–UBE2D complex regulates ubiquitination during oocyte maturation and embryogenesis Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 02 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01758-yHere, Li, Lu, Xia and colleagues identify the maternal complex MPU (PADI6–UHRF1–UBE2D), determine its cryo-electron microscopy structure and show that PADI6 maintains oocyte proteostasis by sequestering UBE2D with the assistance of UHRF1, thereby inhibiting protein ubiquitination. The study, thus, provides a molecular mechanism underlying PADI6-associated female infertility.

New online: The maternal PADI6–UHRF1–UBE2D complex regulates ubiquitination during oocyte maturation and embryogenesis

A cellular basis for the mammalian nocturnal-diurnal switch Early mammals were nocturnal while dinosaurs dominated the daytime. Mammalian transition to daytime activity accelerated after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, but the underlying mechanisms remain...

Since I moved to @mrclmb.bsky.social I’ve been trying to answer this: Why are some mammals active at night and others in the day? Today our answer is out @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/....
If you’re interested in circadian biology, evolution or how timing shapes physiology, take a look

Happy our lab could contribute to this exciting story from the Thomas Becker and Nikolaus Pfanner labs! A protein #Translocase forms #LipidDroplet #Mitochondria #ContactSites via a substrate-mimicry mechanism! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Autophagy induction requires the suppression of potassium influx mediated by phosphatases https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.27.707896v1

Faf2/Ubx2 potentiates p97/Cdc48 segregase activity via functional priming and reinforcement of the UT3 domain in Ufd1 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.26.708172v1

Stress adaptation of mitochondrial protein import by OMA1-mediated degradation of DNAJC15 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 27 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01756-0Kroczek et al show that degradation of DNAJC15 by OMA1 and AFG3L2 under stress limits mitochondrial protein import and OXPHOS biogenesis. Non-imported proteins lead to the induction of the unfolded protein responses from the endoplasmic reticulum.

New online: Stress adaptation of mitochondrial protein import by OMA1-mediated degradation of DNAJC15

Aspartate availability drives differential engagement of the malate-aspartate shuttle Brunner et al. report that malate-aspartate shuttle engagement is cell-state dependent and can be modulated by the availability of the amino acid aspartate. In differentiated cells, malate-aspartate s...

A big chunk of my postdoctoral work on cell-state dependent metabolism is now out at @cp-molcell.bsky.social: www.cell.com/molecular-ce... 1/

Citrate clearance is a major function of aconitase 2 in the canonical TCA cycle Beyond its traditional role in supporting bioenergetic and biosynthetic demands, the canonical TCA cycle is also essential for nutrient clearance. When pyruvate oxidation and citrate production increa...

One more thing- here, together with amazing human being, friend & stellar physician scientist Abby Xie, we identify a new function of the TCA cycle, which is citrate clearance, now online at @cellpress.bsky.social: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

We made it to the front page of @science.org today!! 🎉
Some birds process sugar loads that would be devastating to human metabolism. Many bird groups independently evolved this ability — did they all get there the same way? /1

Cell death is a fundamental mechanism of antiviral immunity across diverse organisms, including bacteria. As my final PhD project with @jbdsf.bsky.social, I was curious whether cell death is required for successful immunity with the ancient cGAS pathway known as ‘CBASS.’

Spoiler – the answer is no!

Functional nutrient-genetic profiling reveals biotin and FBXW7 are essential to bypass glutamine addiction Lisci et al. present a unified model revealing how cells escape glutamine addiction, a metabolic vulnerability of several cancers. Combining systematic genetic and nutrient screens, they show that bio...

Our story on #FBXW7 and #biotin in #glutamine_addiction is now peer-reviewed and published in Molecular Cell! Heroic work led by the very first postdoc of the lab @miriamlisci.bsky.social. Have a look!

www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

FAF1 and FAF2 enhance human p97-UFD1-NPL4 complex unfoldase activity enabling rational design of p97 activators https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.24.707758v1